El-Sayed makes stump-stop at CMU
Michigan U.S. Senate Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to a crowd of people in Warriner Hall’s Plachta Auditorium in Mt. Pleasant, MI, on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. He spoke on issues in the country and took jabs at prominent Republican figures. (CM-Life | Trevor Sparks)
Plachta Auditorium was filled with a cacophany of Central Michigan University students, Mount Pleasant residents and others shouting support for the democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speak on Friday, Oct. 9.
"It shouldn't be this hard to afford a second bag of groceries, shouldn't be this hard to fill your temple," El-Sayed said. "Shouldn't be this hard to see a doctor in the richest, most powerful country in the world."
The event was part of El-Sayed's "It Shouldn't Be This Hard" tour, throughout which he visited several other cities and college campuses including Flint and Grand Rapids.
El-Sayed is running against Republican Mike Rogers for Michigan's United States Senate seat, which is currently occupied by incumbent democrat Gary Peters. Currently, the polls are split between the two candidates, according to the Cook Political Report.
Hours before the doors opened from Warriner at 6:30 p.m., Midland resident Janna Rowan was waiting at the doors at 2 p.m. for her third El-Sayed rally. She has attended rallies in Grand Rapids, Detroit and Lansing.
Hundreds of people await their turn to pass through the doors of Warriner Hall in order to attend a town hall meeting with Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic candidate aiming to reclaim Senator Gary Peters' seat in the United States Senate, on the campus of Central Michigan University, in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026. El-Sayed has become one of the most polarizing candidates in the 2026 midterms.(CM Life | Cristin Coppess)
“He's the real deal, and I had to be here to see him once again...and I'd love to see the college campus, these young kids out here doing the same," Rowan said.
As a Midland resident and voter, Rowan said she is most concerned about how polarized the current political system is.
“It’s about civil rights, it’s about equality, it’s about everybody getting the same piece of the pie,” she said. “It’s about me being able to marry a woman someday and having somebody that’s on the other side of the things not thinking of taking a piece of their pie.”
After hearing concerns about student loans, El-Sayed said that the United States should go back to investing in subsidized education.
“We’re gonna have to be thinking about what the nature of education looks like,” he said. “We’re gonna have to be thinking about it really clearly, and more than anything else, we cannot put it behind such a high paywall that somebody’s student loans triple while they’re trying to look for meaningful work.”
A year after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed, several changes were made to student loans in July, including new caps to federal borrowing limits.
El-Sayed also stated that DTE and Consumers Energy should be regulated like a corporation after one listener asked what the states should do to lower the cost of energy rates. In the spring, southeast residents experienced increases in energy rates from Consumers Energy and DTE.
“I think local communities should be able to opt out if they want to and take the infrastructure with them,” El-Sayed said.
Several other residents stated that they wanted to see a change in immigration policies. CMU student Grace Biju said as a daughter of immigrants, she believes that universities should be considered a sanctuary from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“I feel like sometimes my safety might be at risk as well as other international students at the school,” she said.
Currently, the Michigan U.S. Senate race is under close watch across the country. The race has been highly competitive, with El-Sayed being a controversial candidate due to his progressive views.
Michiganders will hit the polls on Nov. 3. The results of this election will likely play a big role in whether or not the GOP will remain in control of the Senate chamber.
